


Normality

by naasad



Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU, Red Robin (Comics)
Genre: Angst, Angst and Feels, Bruce isn't too emotionally constipated, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Feels, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Jack and Janet Drake's A+ Parenting, Mentioned Child Neglect, mentioned child abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-03
Updated: 2018-05-03
Packaged: 2019-05-01 11:33:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 464
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14519625
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/naasad/pseuds/naasad
Summary: Tim doesn't understand.ORAlmost every child grows up thinking their experiences are normal. The alternative can be too painful to consider.





	Normality

Tim sighed and leaned on the back of the chair. "I don't understand why we're looking into this. It's just parenting."

"It's abuse," Bruce grunted as he made his way to the kitchen counter.

Tim snorted. "No, it's not. You're seeing things that aren't there."

Damian frowned and looked between them.

"What is wrong with you?" Jason slammed his palms on the table. "She decked him and locked him in his room!"

"It's called discipline, Jason, maybe you would've benefited from a little."

"Why you-"

"Enough," Bruce snapped. "Tim, if you can't understand why this is wrong, maybe you need to take a break."

"It's _normal_!" Tim shouted.

"Drake," Damian called, instantly gaining the attention of everyone in the room. "Did your parents treat you like that?"

"Obviously." Tim shrugged, then glared at the looks he was getting. "What?"

"Oh, Tim," Dick sighed, moving closer.

"No." Tim backed against the wall, almost panicking as he held up a finger and stopped Dick in his tracks. "No, you're wrong. It's normal." He swallowed. "My parents loved me. They loved me and they only wanted what was best for me."

"Tim." Dick took another step forward.

" ** _No!_** " Tim gasped for air, trembling. "No, they didn't - they didn't -" He slid down the wall, curling his fists in front of his face, protectively. "They _never_ abused me!" He looked up, only to find pity. "Bruce," he begged.

Bruce stepped forward and scooped his son into his arms. "Let's go upstairs." He carried Tim to his room, mind racing with how small he was then, all the bruises that couldn't be explained. He settled them both on Tim's bed.

"I'm sorry," Bruce said, reaching for the ever-present laptop. "I'm sorry I didn't see it, I'm sorry I didn't protect you."

"There was nothing to protect me from," Tim snapped, fisting his hands in his hair. "They loved me."

"Maybe. Read this." Bruce passed the computer and pressed his lips to Tim's hair.

Tim was silent for a long while, then threw the laptop across the room, where it shattered on the wall. "It's wrong." He curled up into a ball.

"It's not wrong," Bruce said.

" _You're_ _wrong_ ," Tim said, finally sounding as desperate as he felt. "It's wrong, you're wrong, the whole _world's_ wrong." He sobbed. "They _loved_ me."

Bruce pulled him close, running a hand over his back as he cried.

Many minutes later, Tim trembled one last time as his sobs tapered to gasps then to somewhat steady breaths. "What does it say about me," he asked, "that my own parents couldn't love me?"

Bruce sighed. "Well, your father loves you, so it says less about you and a whole lot more about them."

Tim sniffed. "They weren't monsters."

"No," Bruce agreed. "Ordinary humans are far worse."

**Author's Note:**

> A lot of people who are abused by a loved one either think it's normal or don't think it's 'that bad'. Please stay safe, [this article](https://pro.psychcentral.com/exhausted-woman/2016/12/7-types-of-parental-abuse/) is geared toward parental abuse (and is the one I intended to have Bruce showing Tim), but it does an excellent job paring down all the different types of abuse and what they can look like. If you suspect you're being abused, you are usually not wrong. Stay educated, stay safe.


End file.
